Canada



S to ep 1927 J. R. EDWARDS CAN COVER COUNTING MACHINE Filed May 1. 1.924 3 Sheets-Sheet l J. R. EDWARDS "CAN COVER COUNTING MACHINE Filed May 1. 1924: 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

W A TTORNEYS J) R. EDWARDS CAN COVER COUNTING MACHINE Sept. 6, 1921. 1,641,476

Filed May 1. 1924 5 Sheqts Sheet 3" j zzvVlixggole.

' z'cfa/ 9 p I m v (kf c'z VZTTORNEYJ Patented Sept. 6, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN RICHARD EDWARDS, OF VANCQUVEB, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, ASSIGNOR 7 TO AIVIEBIGAN CAN COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A. CORIQRATION OF NEW' JERSEY.

Application filed May 1,

veniently located for removal and packing for shipment;

In accordance with modern canning practice, the can covers are supplied to the packers separately from the can bodies and can most conveniently be packed and shipped in boxes entirely independently of the method of shipment of the can bodies. It is, therefore,.highly important that these covers be supplied in proper quantity so that the customer will have a sufficient number to close all of the cans which he receives and still not have an excess, resulting in wastage. Inasmuch as the ends are manufactured at a high rate of speed by automatic machinery, it is desirable that they be accurately counted and arranged for packing without retarding the production in the factory. The purpose of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a machine for rapidly and correctly counting the covers and arranging them in proper groups for packing, with a minimum requirement for the services of attendants and by means of automatically controlled mechanism of simple and eflicient operation.

An improtant feature of novelty in the present invention is the positive actuation of the cover counting mechanism by contact of the covers as they are individually propelled through the separating and feeding devices of the machine.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of means for automatically .terminating the action of said separating and feeding devices when thesupply of covers l runs low in the chute through which they are delivered, thus insuring that the supply will be replenished at the proper time and preventing inaccurate results due to the continued operation of said deviceswhen no covers are in position to be acted upon Fi ure 1 is a side elevation of a machine in whitih invention is embodied,

CAN-COVFR-OOUNTING MACHINE. V

1924. Serial No. 710,286.

ing the stacked covers in position for count- 1s; A

Fig. 2 311 enlarged central sectional view, taken substantially along section line.

tegrally with a transverse web 12 connect,

ing side frames 13 and 14-, which restfupon supporting legs 15. A trough 16 is supported from forward extensions of the side frames 13 by means of yokes 17 and 18 andis adapted to'receive the ends after they are counted and arranged in groupsof prede termined size for packing.

The covers from a stack 19 in' the chute 11 are adapted to be separated and propelled, individually by and between cylindrical drums 21, mounted for rotationrk t the base of said chute and provided with spiral grooves 22, which are cut in the per 1pheral faces thereof. For-the purpose of rotating said drums, a drive shaft 23, re-

ceiving; power through a pulley 24, is provided with spiral gears and 26 disposed wlthm and ad acent bearings 27 and. 28 and meshing ,Wltll intermedlate spiral gears 29 and 31, which are carried upon studs 32' and 33 and in. turn mesh with other spiral gears 34 and'35 secured to the upper ends ofshafts 36 and 37, which have bearings in the frame and carry the feeding drums 21.

By the mechanism. just described, said drums 21 are rotated in timed relation, the open upper ends of the grooves 22 being po sitioned at the opposite sides of each can cover jas it is separated from the stack by means shown particularly in Figs. 3 and 4. The stack of ends is normally support- .ed upon inwardly extending fingers 38' formed upon oppositely disposed levers 39,

pivoted respectively, at 41 and42 in the frame. Said levers are adapted to" be ac mated to move thejfingers 38 in and out is tuned relation with the marina he 21 by of the shafts 36 and 37 just above said drums 21. The levers 39 are held against said cams by means of springs 14 secured at one end to said levers and at the opposite end to hooks fixedly secured in the frame. Upon withdrawal of the fingers 38, the lowermost can end of the stack comes in contact with the'tops of the drums 21 and in position to enter the open upper ends of the grooves 22, as they are presented. Continued rotation of the shafts 36 and 37 causes the fingers 38 to enter between said lowermost end and the one next above it to support the remainder of the stack and the separated cover is propelled downwardly within and by the grooves ofsaid drums 21. It will be noted that said drums are flared outwardly toward theirlower ends, this being for the purpose of narrowing the space between the walls of opposite grooves, causing the covers to be crowded forward and partially removed from between said drums and turned toward the vertical position in which. they are arranged in the trough. or chute 16. V The covers are thus transferred positively from the delivery chute 11 to the receiving chute 16 one after another in separated relationship, as shown in Fig. 2, being guided between the bottom of the chute 1 1 and a retaining plate 4:6 which extends downwardly from the ring connecting piece 47 formed intermediate the length of said chute 11, said retaining plate being curved forwardly at its lower end to permit the outward and more.

horizontal movement of the covers caused by the flaring of the lower ends of the drums 21-. I

"The covers, as they are thus directed and separated between the drums 21, successively and individually engage the teeth of the ratchet disk 48 secured to a shaft 49 journ-aled in suitable hearings in the frame, each cover thereby rotating said shaft a predetermined amount. The teeth of the disk ex tend through a slot 51 in the lower part of thechute 11 and are so disposed that each cover engages one tooth, rotating the disk a given amount sufficient to disengage the cover and present the succeeding tooth for actuation by the next cover. Carried on the end of the shaft 49 is a worm 52, meshing with a worm wheel 53 mounted upon a stud 5e carried by an, adjustable bracket 55 secured to the side of the frame.

The counting of the ends is governed by this worm wheel 53 in a manner to be now described. 7 a 4 V A bail '56. is pivoted at 57 to the frame of the machineand has a notch 58 out in the front edge thereof. Said bail is normally held in raisedposition and is adapted to fall forwardly to cause said notch 58" to engage over the bars 39 after a predetermined number of ends have passed through the counter.

This is accomplished by means of an extension 59 secured to a side of said bail and raving a downwardly and rearwardly ex tending foot portion 61 normally engaging the face of a disk 62 secured to the upper side of the worm wheel Said dis; is formed with a radial slot 63 into which the foot portion of said extension is adapted to enter after completion of one revolution of said worm wheel. TlllSlJQllllltS the bail 56 to turn upon its pivots 57, causing the notch 58 to engage over the bars 39, preventing separation thereof and thus discontinuing the feeding of the covers. In starting the countof the machine, the recess 63 is adjacent the foot 61 of the extension 59 and the bail 56' must be raised by hand to disengage said foot 61, which, after the wheel 53 begins to rotate, rides upon the face of the disk 62',- as previously stated. It will be manifest that the magnitude of the counted stacks may be readily varied by the use of worm wheels of different diameter, this being rendered possible within a wide range by the adjustable bracketlVhen the ball 56' is permitted to drop down through the entry of the foot 61 into the recess 63 after a single revolution of the worm wheel 53, the stack of covers is. supported upon the fingers of the bars 39 and further feeding cannot occur until said bail is lifted by the operator. The counted stack may then be removed and deposited in a. packing case and another stack formed in similar manner. I provide means for stopping the action of the machine when the supply of covers in the chute 11 runs low, thus assuring that the supply will not be exhausted during operation of the counter. This means comprises a bell crank lever 64, pivoted at 65 to a yoke 66 supported by the ring connecting piece 47, the upper arm of said bell crank being disposed ina slot 6'? ma forked bar (58 having at its lower end a foot 69 formed with a notch 71, similar to the notch 58 in the bail 56". The lower arm of the bell crank 64 is normally disposed in the path of travel of the covers the stack 19 and is held in raised position thereby. When, howe er, the stack decreases in height to a point below said arm, the weight thereof causes it to drop down, permitting the bar 68 to move forwardly and causing the notched foot 69 to engage the bars 39, preventii'ig separation thereof in the manner hereinbefore described in connection with the bail 56 whereupon no'cover's can be fed until the stack inthe chute 11 has been renewed.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparenttha-t various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention,

or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merel a preferred embodiment thereof.

I c aim:

1. A machine for counting can ends, comprising parallel grooved and flared drums for grasping, separating and conveying said ends, counting mechanism, and means actuated by the covers as they are held and propelled by said drums for operating said counting mechanism.

2. A machine for counting can ends, comprising positive grasping and feeding devices, counting mechanism, and means actuated by the covers as they are propelled by said feeding devices and held in position for operating said counting mechanism, said feeding devices comprising rotatable grooved cylindrical drums provided with are transferred from the line of delivery to' the place of deposit.

4. A machine for counting can ends, comprising a vertically disposed delivery chute, a horizontally disposed stacking chute, grooved transfer drums disposed between said chutes and flared outwardly at the lower ends thereof whereby to change the axial position of the covers, and-means for counting the covers transferred to said stacking chute.

5. A machine for counting can ends, comprising a vertically disposed delivery chute, a horizontally disposed stacking chute, grooved transfer drums disposed between said chutes and flared outwardly at the lower ends thereof whereby to change the axial position of the covers, and counting mechanism actuated by the covers as they are positively moved by said transfer drums.

6. A machine for counting can ends, comprising grooved elements for holding can covers against sidewise pressure and feeding the covers so held in separated relationship, a ratchet wheel actuated by contact with said covers, and means for terminating the feeding of the covers after predetermined rotary movement of said ratchet wheel.

7. A machine for counting can ends, comprising grooved elements for holding can covers against sidewise pressure'and feeding the covers so held in separated relationship, a ratchet wheel actuated by contact with said covers, and means for terminating the feeding of the covers after predetermined rotary movement of said ratchet wheel, ;said means comprising a pivoted lockingmember normally held out of looking position and a releasing device automatically operable upon completion of redetermined rotation of said ratchet weel for permitting said locking member to move into locking position.

8. A machine for counting can ends, comprising a delivery chute, a stacking chute, means for transferring the can covers from one said chute to the other, means for counting the covers so transferred, and. means controlled by the stacked covers in the delivery chute for preventing the transfer of covers when the supply thereof runs low in said delivery chute.

9. A machine for counting can ends, comprising a delivery chute, a stacking chute, means for separating individual covers from a stack in said delivery chute, means for transferring the separated covers to said stacking chute, means for counting the covers so transferred, and means for locking said separating means to prevent operation thereof after a stack of predetermined 

